NEW YORK (AP) — Judging by the television ratings, one place where chef Paula Deen is welcome is on the “Today” show.

The NBC morning show beat its rivals at ABC’s “Good Morning America” with a Thursday episode that featured Matt Lauer’s interview with the celebrity chef. Deen is trying to keep her career cooking following admissions that she had used a racial slur.

The Nielsen company says that “Today” had just under 4.8 million viewers on Thursday, while “GMA” had 4.63 million. It was the first time “Today” had a bigger audience since November during the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

On average, the ABC show beat “Today” by 900,000 viewers a day last week.